Process of treating hydrocarbons



Patented July 23, 1929.

UNITED STATES JOHN COLLINS CLANGY, 0F ASIBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF TREATING HYDROCARBONS.

No Drawing.

In my application Serial No. 586,029 filed September 2nd, 1922 entitledProcess of cracking oils, I described a process for cracking oilscatalytically, while incidental to such operation, means were providedfor preventing poisoning of the metal catalyst by sulphur present in theoil being treated.

The present case is in part a continuation of my said application as itis based, in part, upon disclosures made therein.

The herein described process, in one of its aspects, concerns theproduction of lighter hydrocarbon from heavier hydrocarbons; the type orclass of agents preferably employed for the effecting of the reactionwhich yields the desired product, having a dual function, in that suchan agent behaves catalytically and also as a desulphurizing agent.

I have discovered, as indicated in my saidapplication Serial No.586,029, that fusible eyanids, such, for example, as sodium cyanid,possess the valuable property of desulphurizing hydrocarbonmaterial,such ashydrocarbon oils and the vapors thereof, withoutintroducing difiicultly removable impurities into said oils or liquidproducts resulting from the cracking or distillation of such hydrocarbonmaterial with a molten cyanid reagent; the operation being preferablyconducted at a temperature sufiicient to maintain the cyanid reagent inthe molten phase.

This renders it possible to successfully treat both light and highgravity high sulphur oils. and also hydrocarbon material such asnaphthalene, anthraccne, etc., and vulcanized rubber, etc., which are.solid at ordinary temperature but liquid under the reaction conditionsin question, to remove the sulphur therefrom to any extent desired; thetreated oil or hydrocarbon material being cracked or not depending uponthe temperature employed.

When cracking is to be effected the cyanid reagent is maintained at, forexample, 400 C. to 000 C., and even higher. Pure sodium cyanid becomesmolten around 600 (1. and

by providing a mixture of the same, with, for

example, sodium thiocyanate or sodium formate, potassium for-mate, orthe like, the eutectic point of the cynaid mixture or desulphurizingreagent, may be made as low as, for example, 200 C. or 350 C.

When cracking of the heavier oils into lighter hydrocarbons (gaseous aswell as'liquid) is efi'ected,-the cyanid reagent or desulphurizingmixture, acts catalytically to pro- Application filed August 10, 1926.Serial No. 128,514.

passes the hydrocarbon material to be treated, I

through or suitably into contact with a molten body or mass, comprisingthe cyanid contam ng agent; whereupon the sulphur present 1s promptlyabstracted, with consequent formation of alkali metal thiocyanate anddesulphurization of the hydrocarbon. The latter if not to be cracked, isremoved from the sphere of the reaction in any suitable manner, as bysimple distillation or by separating it in the liquid condition from themolten'cyanid reagent, by diiference of specific gravity slmilar to themethod of removing the unvaporlzed hydrocarbons from the -molten cyanid,as described in my said application Serial No. 586.029.

It will be understood, of course, that the better and more extended thecontact and duratlon of the same, between the fused mass and thehydrocarbon to be treated,the more nearly perfect the results obtained.

As previously stated, when cracking of a hydrocarbon is to be effected,a suitable temperature is employed, and the cyanid or mixture containingthe same, or its equivalent, then acts not alone to desulphurize thehydrocarbon, but further to facilitate the cracking and distillation ofthe same; in such case no metal catalyst being required,-although it maybe used in conjunction with the cyanid under the operating conditions,as described in my said application Serial No. 586,029.

I may add that while an alkali metal thiocyanate obviously will not act,by itself, as a desulphurizing reagent; it nevertheless behavescatalytically in the cracking operation; as does also the alkali formatewhen used in conjunction with the alkali metal cyanid, in the eutecticmixture.

I claim:

1. The process of cracking hydrocarbons, which comprises subjecting ahydrocarbon to be treated, to the action of a reagent comprising amolten mixture of alkali metal cyanide and alkali metal formate, saidreagent being maintained at a cracking temperature.

2. The process of cracking h drocarbons, which comprises subjecting aydrocarbon oil, while in vaporous condition, to the catalytic action ofa reagent comprising a molten 'body containing alkali metal cyanide andalkali metal formate, said reagent being maintained at a crackingtemperature.

3. The process of cracking hydrocarbon material which comprisesvaporizing said material and causing the hydrocarbon vapors to contactwith a mass of a molten mixture of sodium cyanide and sodium formatemaintained at a cracking temperature.

4. The process of cracking hydrocarbon 1 oils which comprises,subjecting such an oil to vaporizing conditions, but without causingsubstantial cracking thereof and contacting the v hydrocarbon vaporproduced with a molten body containing an alkali metal cyanide and analkali metal formate maintained at a cracking temperature.

5. The process of producing hydrocarbons of low boiling points fromhydrocarbons of higher boiling points, which consists in passing thevapors of the hydrocarbons of higher boiling points through a mixture ofmolten sodium cyanide and sodium formate.

Signed at Asbury Park, in the county of Monmouth and State of NewJersey, this 9th day of August A. D. 1926. a

JOHN COLLINS CLANCY.

